Petr Pavel, Former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Became the President of the Czech Republic

Petr Pavel, a former chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military committee, has become the new president of the Czech Republic. Pavel, 61, defeated billionaire Andrej Babis in a run-off vote to replace controversial President Milos Zeman as he emerged as the new Czech President. A former military general, Pavel got more than 58 per cent of the vote, according to the Czech Statistics Office.

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More About This Development:

As none of the eight initial candidates received an absolute majority in the first round of voting two weeks ago, the election was decided in a second-round run-off between Pavel and Babis. Pavel, a former paratrooper, won 58.3 percent of votes while Andrej Babis scored 41.7 percent.

The 61-year-old Pavel will in March replace President Milos Zeman, an outspoken and divisive politician who fostered close ties with Moscow before making a U-turn when Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

Petr Pavel’s Political Lineage:

He has been a vocal supporter of the European Union and NATO, seeing the Czech Republic’s future as inextricably linked to their membership.

Time and again, Pavel has also expressed his support for the country to provide military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine during the conflict with Russia.